Intensive Caring
by Norla
Summary: Bobby and Alex meet a woman and their lives change forever.
1. Chapter 1

While this is not my first story, it is my first attempt at writing CI. Let me know what you think, and if I should continue or retreat back to Third Watch!

Thanks to mybeta, for introducing me to CI...

Here we go!

"Detective Goren, your appointment is here," the receptionist's voice came over the intercom of the telephone.

The voice jarred Bobby Goren from his thoughts on the latest case on his desk. He looked over at his partner Alex Eames before answering the intercom. "Thank you, We'll be right there." His eyes were still on his partner's as he stood up.

"Still no clue?" Alex asked as they walked to the elevator.

"None," was his answer. "I have no idea who Vanessa Riley is."

"Well, I guess we will in about 30 seconds," Alex said as the door slid closed behind them.

Bobby did not answer but reached over and pressed the 'M' button. With a groan the elevator came to life and started to descend to the main floor.

"It will be fine," Alex said in a reassuring tone.

Bobby nodded. The door slid open and he waited until Alex exited before striding out and walking beside her. They made their way quietly over to the waiting room where they found a pretty young lady with long curly dark hair and warm brown eyes sitting in a chair with a decidedly nervous look on her face.

"Mrs. Riley?" Bobby asked as he stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Detective Goren?" She questioned as stood.

"This is Detective Eames," Bobby said as he shook the young lady's hand, before stepping back and letting Alex take her turn. "Shall we go to a room which is a little more quiet?"

Mrs. Riley looked down at the floor then met the tall detective's eyes and nodded. "That is probably a good idea".

The trio quietly moved down the hall to a small room, which held a couch, two armchairs and a table. Bobby held the door open for the ladies and then closed it behind them. He waited until the ladies were seated before he took the chair next to Alex.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" He asked.

"Nothing, thank you," Mrs. Riley said softly as she glanced down at her fingernails.

"Ali?" Bobby offered.

"No thank you," Alex said smiling over at him, then turned to the nervous looking young lady. "How can we help you Mrs. Riley?"

"Vanessa, please," She said looking up at the detectives. "I'm not really sure where to begin," she said as she shifted in her chair.

"The beginning always works for me," Alex said encouragingly.

Vanessa nodded then took a deep breath. "Detective Goren, when you were in high school did you go out with someone by the name of Kate Sinclair?"

Bobby blinked, but showed no sign of surprise. "Yes," he said slowly. "In my senior year, her junior, we dated."

"She was my birth mother," Vanessa said, as she reached into her pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. "There is a chance that you are my biological father. This is a copy of my birth certificate, and it lists you as my father. She was very young when she had me, and she has since passed on, so there is no way short of a blood test to determine…" She had looked down when she took the paper out of her pocket. She looked up at the shocked expressions on the two detective's faces. "I'm sorry," she said with a small smile, "I think that I had better slow down and start over."

"Bobby," Alex said softly. "Would you like me to get you something to drink?"

He shook his head at Alex, and then reached his hand out for the certificate, which he studied very carefully for a moment.

"Very easily," he said as he took note of the date. "You would have been born the spring after Kate and her parents moved to Montana. The timing is actually…" He looked at Alex. "Perfect."

"Kate?" Alex whispered under her breath as she watched Bobby.

He heard the whispered question and met her eyes. "No Ali, I chose Caitlin for a different reason."

"Caitlin?" Questioned Vanessa, her eyes growing large.

"Our daughter," Bobby said. "Forgive me, this is a bit of a surprise."

"I understand," Vanessa said. "I'm sorry for the shock. I mean, I have always known that I am adopted. When I found out how young my mother was, I wondered if my father knew about me. I guess he was never told. Detective, if you would like, I could come back tomorrow. You could have some time to take in what I have just told you."

"No," he said rubbing his hand over his face. "Tell me about yourself."

"I was born March 28, 1980 in Boise. I was adopted when I was 3 days old. My mom and dad are Angus and Marion Cawley who live in Spokane Washington. I had a great life. I had two older brothers who watched out for me and tormented me as brothers are supposed to. I got my degree in elementary education and my masters in special education. I met my husband Kendal at USC. We have two amazing little girls Alexandra Breanne is five and our youngest Kaitlyn Alexis is two. As I said, I always knew that I was adopted, but I never thought much of it growing up. I knew that my parents loved me so much that they wanted me to have the best life possible so they gave me to mom and dad. I always said that I would never search for my parents, until two weeks ago."

"What happened?" Alex asked looking at the pained expression on the young lady's face.

"Kaity," she hesitated slightly. " A year ago Kaity was diagnosed with leukemia. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She achieved remission after two months. Two weeks ago we discovered that she is out of remission, her best chance now is a bone marrow transplant. After her diagnosis I needed to try to find my birth parents and… I am hoping for a related bone marrow match. Lexie is not close enough to help her sister. My husband's brother has come close, but closer is better. My birth mother was killed in a car accident twenty-three ago, and she never had any more children. Her parents have also passed away. So…"

"Test me," Bobby said. "With luck I will be able to help. Our daughter, Caitlin Alexis, is the same age as your Kaity… that is too young…"

"Whatever it takes," Alex said firmly grasping Bobby's hand. "I'll go tell the captain that we are taking personal time. Mike and Carolyn can handle the load."

"Detective," Vanessa started but was interrupted.

"Bobby. Please call me Bobby," he said.

"I'm sorry," She said. "I know that this is a tremendous shock for you. I really appreciate…"

"Vanessa," he interrupted again. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I wish that Kate had told me that she was pregnant. I would have… I would have liked to have known. I would have agreed with her decision to put you up for adoption. We were both very young.

"You don't want a blood test to ensure that you are my father?" Vanessa asked.

"When I test to see if I can help your Kaitlyn we will find out then," He said certainly. "The facts all work, and they are indicating that I am."

"Do I…" she took a deep breath. "Do I have any other siblings?"

"No," Bobby said, then added with a tiny smile. "Well not that I know of anyway."

"Caitlin Alexis," the young lady smiled. "What are the chances? Tell me about yourself."

"Not much to tell," Bobby said shifting uncomfortably. "I grew up in New York. My father was not in the picture for the majority of my life. I have one brother who moved from the city as soon as he could. My mother suffers from a mental disorder and lives in an assisted living center. Not exactly what you wanted to hear from me I'm sure."

"Tell me about your family. You said that you and Detective Eames have a daughter…" Vanessa prompted.

"Ali and I were partnered after I had a series of failed partnerships with other detectives. When I first met her, I thought that she would be gone in a matter of days like the others. She proved me wrong. She stayed with me. We got married four years ago and she wanted to have children right away. I was always apprehensive about having children because of my mom, but Ali wanted a baby so badly. It was difficult for us, but with some medical interventions, we had our daughter Caitlin Alexis. She is an amazing baby… pardon me, big girl."

Vanessa laughed. "I understand, my Kaity is at that stage too."

"Do you," Bobby hesitated "Do you have a picture of your, your, your kids?"

She reached into her purse and found a small photo album, which she held out to Bobby. "Do you have a picture of your Caitlin?" she asked.

Bobby nodded and pulled out his wallet, then carefully extracted four small prints of his daughter and handed them over.

Vanessa looked down at the image of a tiny blonde girl with enormous brown eyes. This child looked almost exactly like her own little girl. She felt a small smile pull at the corner of her mouth. She had not only found her father, but he had a child the same age as her own baby, and with the same name.

Bobby opened the little album to reveal a picture of a smiling happy young family. Vanessa and her husband were standing with their arms around the other's waist while two little girls stood in front of them wearing white sun dresses and yellow hats. Lexie the older one looked just like her father. Tall and slender with dark red curls, 'a real beauty', Bobby thought. He shifted his gaze to the smaller of the two girls and his breath caught. Vanessa's Kaitlyn looked eerily like his own. She had straight blonde hair, a tiny nose, and huge brown eyes that sparkled with mischief.

The two were lost in the pictures when Alex reentered the room. She looked at her husband who was absorbed in the album. She went over to him and glanced down at a picture of a tiny girl sitting in a hospital bed with hat on her bald little head. The hat was huge; it was pink gingham with a green butterfly on the front. It covered her head down to her eyes. Her face was chubby from all the steroids but the grin was one that she saw daily on her own daughter.

"Caitlin is gorgeous," Vanessa said as she handed the pictures to Alex. "She looks so much like my Kaity it is almost frightening."

"Kaity is beautiful," Alex responded as she traced the picture with her finger. She looked up at Bobby, who, in his usual fashion, was committing every detail of the pictures to his memory. "Where did you want us to go to get the tests?"

As Vanessa filled Alex in on the hospital information, Bobby finished examining the pictures, handed the album back then sat down heavily on the couch, and ran his hands through his short hair. He did not know what to think. Within half an hour, he had learned that he not only had a daughter from his high school sweetheart, but he also had two granddaughters. One of the children was sick, and with luck, he would be able to help the child.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that it did not even register that Vanessa had left the room, and that Alex had sat down next to him and had started gently rubbing his back.

"Bobby?" Alex said softly, and waited for him to look over at her. "Hun, you accepted this all so readily. You didn't question a thing."

"Ali, she is my daughter," he said quietly. "I just know. She looks like Kate, but she also looks like my mom. Our daughters look like they could be twins, and I know that when you went up to talk to the captain, you ran her on the computers."

Alex felt her face turn pink. "I did," she admitted. "Do you want to hear what I found?"

He nodded and then sat back looking at Alex.

"She was born March 28, 1980 in Boise, and adopted to a couple in Washington State. She got her degrees at USC, married her husband Kendal six years ago and they have two daughters. She had one speeding ticket in 1997; her credit record is spotless. Her adoption file was closed until last week when it was opened to give her information on her birth parents. Bobby, she looks legit, but I for one want to see the blood tests before I…"

"She asked me about blood tests," Bobby said quietly. "Anything that we need to know will come to light when I go get tested for compatibility. "I know, Ali, I know that she is my daughter. I know it like I know Caity is mine."

"Come on, lets go get you something to eat, and spend the afternoon with Caity," Alex said as she pulled at Bobby's arms to get him to stand. We need to meet them at Children's at 4:00."

"Deakins?" He asked.

"As much time as we need. Apparently we have enough overtime stocked to retire today." She laughed lightly, hoping to get a smile from Bobby. She was rewarded with a tiny grin. "Let's go."

Bobby, Alex and Caity arrived at the hospital at 3:45. Alex went into the building with Caitlin to meet Vanessa and her husband in the lobby. She found them standing together looking out a window while nearby a little girl was sitting in a chair looking at a picture book.

"Hi," Alex called as she grasped Caity's hand a little more tightly and walked over to the young family. "Bobby is parking the car, he will be here in a few minutes."

"Hi Alex," Vanessa said turning to face them. "This is my husband Kendal, and my daughter Lexie."

"Ken," Vanessa's husband said extending his hand to Alex. "This must be Caitlin."

"I Taity," the tiny girl said holding out a hand.

"Hi, Caity," he smiled and knelt down to take her tiny hand in his. "You sure are pretty."

"Q," she said and was rewarded with a hug from her mother.

"Hello Alexandra," Alex said taking a step toward the older child who had put down her book and was watching the introductions. "My name is Alexandra too! My friends call me Alex."

"I like Lexie better," the little girl said warily.

"My daddy still calls me Lexie," Alex said. "My husband calls me Ali."

"I like that," Lexie said.

"Well, you can call me that if you would like," Alex said. "May I call you Lexie?"

The child thought about it for a few seconds then nodded. "Yes, that will be fine," she said.

Alex smiled then glanced toward the door in time to see Bobby enter the hospital. "Ah here he is."

Bobby quickly made his way over to the small group and introductions were made.

Alex felt a tug on her shirt. She looked down to see Lexie staring with big eyes up at Bobby.

"What do I call him?" She whispered to Alex.

"You can call him Bobby," she said kneeling down beside the child.

"Ok," the child said before she turned to Caity. "Hi, do you want to look at this story?"

Caity nodded and climbed up beside the older girl and looked at the book.

"I can't thank you enough for coming to get tested," Ken said to Bobby.

"I just hope that I can help," Bobby said as he reached behind him for Alex's hand. "Is, is there any way that I can meet Kaity?"

"Absolutely," Vanessa said as she turned from the two little girls. "Ken, will you…"

"Are you two hungry?" Ken asked Lexie and Caity. "I think they have ice cream in the cafeteria."

Caity looked over at her parents with big sparkling eyes. "Pwease?"

"Go ahead Caity," Bobby said softly. "You stay with Mr. Riley and Lexie."

"Hold Lexie's hand," Kendal said as he led the two girls away.

"I've got it," Bobby said quietly as he gripped Alex's hand tightly.

They quietly rode the elevator up to the third floor. The doors opened to reveal a pretty yellow and green hallway with animal footprints on the floor in various colours. They walked past the nurses' station and down the hall to a small isolation room. Vanessa and Alex scrubbed carefully, while Bobby stared through the window at a tiny figure in a metal crib.

"Your turn," Alex said as she dried her hands. "Bobby?"

He turned stumbled toward the sink, where he washed and then pulled on latex gloves.

"Al, Ali," He stammered.

"It's ok," she assured him, lets go meet our Granddaughter.

tbc?


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for all the positive reviews! I have to say I was quite surprised! I have only written TW and ER fics in the past. CI is a new passion for me. There will be a TW cameo!

CICICICICICICICICICI

Bobby could not sleep. The image of that tiny girl, his granddaughter, in that huge hospital bed was too much for him. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Kaitlyn. Not just Vanessa's daughter, but his own. It had been so hard to get Caity, the thought that she could become sick… it was too much to even think about.

lociloci

The day that Ali had told him that they were pregnant had been so exciting and terrifying for him. Ali had carried her sister's son so easily, but they had suffered three miscarriages in the first two years of their marriage. They had gone through the drug therapy and exhausted all of their savings. Finally, defeated, they had put their names on an adoption list. Two weeks later Ali caught the flu, and could not shake the nausea. Bobby had insisted that she visit the doctor, he could not go with her as he had to be in court, but he left four messages on her cell that she was to call him the moment she was finished.

Her appointment had been for 11 and when he still had not heard from her at four he left the courthouse and had gone in search of his wife. He found her three blocks away, looking through a window at baby furniture.

"Bobby," she had said, "We need to do some redecorating."

She had thrown herself into his arms and he had held her close. Thoughts racing through his head. He did not think that either of them could suffer another miscarriage.

When it became clear that this baby was meant to be, he started to worry about what kind of genes he had passed on to it. Would it have schizophrenia? Would it have any other mental disorder? Both he and Alex were older, would this baby be affected in any other manner? He nearly drove himself crazy thinking about it, until the day that he had accompanied Alex to her doctor's appointment. He saw, for the first time, the tiny image on the screen. He heard the doctor proclaim it to be perfect. He looked down at Alex and back at the screen. Their baby was healthy. If it had any mental disorders, they would deal with it. All they could do was love it, and he did. They did.

The only issue that came up during Alex's pregnancy was if they should find out the gender. Alex did, Bobby did not. Alex wanted to know if they were having a boy. She desperately wanted to give Bobby a son. She had explained that if they had their son first then all the pressure would be off. They could then have five daughters and they would not have to keep trying for a boy. Bobby on the other hand wanted a daughter. He wanted a sweet little girl that looked just like Ali. He wanted to buy pink clothes and teddy bears. He wanted to watch ballet recitals and figure skating competitions. The baby was on its father's side and any time that the doctor tried to determine its sex, it positioned itself in such a manner that it was impossible to tell.

They made a deal. If the baby was girl Bobby could name her, with the stipulation that he did not call her Ethel or Bertha. If they had a son, Alex would name him. On the fourth day of May, Caitlin Alexis Goren joined her parents.

When the baby was four months old, they had a call from the Adoption agency. It was a very difficult decision, but they chose to let the baby go to another childless couple. They had their daughter, and if they never had another child, it would be okay.

Bobby had loved watching his baby grow and change. She was as cute as could be, but she was a stubborn little bunny. She would work at a problem until she had it solved. She had gone from a tiny infant to a miniature adult very quickly. Everyone at PPI was wrapped around her tiny finger and she liked it that way.

Now, unexpectedly, he had another family to worry about. He had a daughter from his first love. The moment that Vanessa had said that he might be her father, he knew, without a doubt that she was. He could understand why Alex was so concerned. He never accepted anything at face value; his nature was to question everything. It was what made him so proficient at his job. This, this he knew.

He had looked down at his tiny granddaughter, who looked so much like his own baby. Her skin was almost translucent. It looked so frail that he had been hesitant to touch her. She had flashed him a huge smile and held her tiny hand out to him. He sat on the bed and she had crawled into his lap and jabbered away.

Both he and Ali had gone downstairs to the lab and had blood drawn. They would not know the results until tomorrow.

lociloci

Bobby looked over at the red glow from the clock radio beside him…. Today.

"Bobby?" Ali's tired voice came through his thoughts.

"Hi," He whispered back. "You should be sleeping."

"So should you," she answered. "There is nothing you can do right now, and staying awake will not make anything better."

"I know," he said sitting up and sliding out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked with a yawn and sat up as well."

I need to check on Caity," He said and padded out of the room and across the hall into the pink bedroom of his little girl.

He looked down at the sleeping child and pulled her blankets up closer around her. He bent down, rescued a pink teddy bear from the floor, and placed it beside her pillow.

"She's gorgeous," Alex whispered and slid her hand into his.

"Just like her mother," Bobby responded pulling Alex into his arms. "I want to help."

"I know," she said snuggling her face into his chest. "We will help. In whatever way that we can, we will. C'mon, its bedtime.

He followed her back to their bedroom and sat down on his side of the bed. She crawled across and wrapped her arms around him, kissing the side of his neck. He lay down next to his wife and let her snuggle into him. He turned his head toward the window and tried to get his brain to slow enough to sleep.

The call came at nine the next morning. Bobby was struggling with Caity, trying to get her into her overalls. He grabbed the telephone and listened as the doctor told him that he and Ali should come to the hospital right away. He had just hung up when the telephone rang again, this time it was Vanessa.

"Hi, did the hospital call you yet?" She asked breathlessly.

"I just hung up with them," Bobby said as he snagged a screaming Caitlin. "We will be at the hospital as soon as I can get Caitli dressed."

"Well, with a two year old, that could be anytime between now and next Tuesday!" Vanessa said with a laugh. "Lexie was bad enough to dress, Kaity… well she's a horse of a different colour! See you in a bit."

Alex was at the door of Caitlin's room by the time Bobby hung up. "Well?" She asked.

"We need to head to the hospital," Bobby said as he tossed the overalls aside and grabbed a little pink dress and pulled it over Caity's head. "Can you call Lizzy and find out if she can baby-sit."

Within an hour, Bobby and Alex were on their way to the hospital. Bobby sat fidgeting in the passenger seat until Alex sent him a look across the cab.

They met up with Vanessa, Lexie and Ken in the lobby.

"Where's Caity?" Ken asked as he watched Bobby and Alex walk in the door.

"We left her at home," Alex said.

"Alone?" Lexie asked.

Bobby laughed, "no, with a babysitter."

"I wish that I could be with her," Lexie grumbled.

"She's just tired," Vanessa apologized.

"Let me make a couple calls," Alex said. "I think that we can convince Lizzy to take Lexie." She pulled out her cell telephone and made the calls.

"What have you heard?" Bobby asked Vanessa.

"Not much, but the doctor did say he had some promising results," she said.

"Good," Bobby said with a nod. "Ali and I will do anything we can to help."

"That is so appreciated," Ken said as he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder.

"Done," Alex announced. "Faith and Bos are close so they will come and get Lexie. Lizzy is happy to have her."

"Good," Bobby said and kissed Alex's head. "Faith and Bos both work in Major Crimes with us," he informed Vanessa. Lizzy is the daughter of a friend, also a detective, with the Special Victims Unit."

"Thank you," Vanessa said softly.

Moments later Detective Faith Boscorelli appeared and Lexie was on her way to the Goren home.

The foursome made their way up to the doctor's office, and was ushered in quickly. The doctor joined them immediately.

"We have some good news," Doctor Sinclair said sitting down next to Vanessa on the sofa. "We have a match."

Bobby let out the breath that he had not been aware that he was holding.

"Mrs. Goren, you are a match for Kaitlyn."

"Me?" Alex said in surprise.

"The match is as close to being perfect as we can hope for." The doctor said.

"Me?" Alex asked again.

"As for the paternity test Mr. Goren, all indications are that you are Mrs. Riley's father. The final results will be available in a few days."

"Thank you," Bobby said as he turned to look at Alex. "Are you ok?"

"I'm the match?" Alex asked again. "But I'm not even blood related."

"Quite often unrelated bone marrow is used, and is very successful," The doctor assured them. "We usually check family first, but we regularly need to go to our unrelated lists. Now there is a little complication."

"Complication?" Ken asked wearily.

"Mrs. Goren, are you aware that you are pregnant?"

Alex's jaw fell open. "What?"

Bobby sat stunned for a moment, before he pulled Alex into his arms. "What does this mean for Kaity?"

Well, if you agree, we will still do the harvest on Mrs. Goren's hip…."

"Alex," Alex said. "Please, not Mrs. Goren, it is Alex. We will do anything to help them, but please don't let anything happen to this baby."

"We will take all necessary precautions." The doctor assured her. "Now we do still have a few necessary tests before we can schedule the harvest."

They set up times and then the doctor left the four alone.

Bobby pulled Alex close to him then looked into her shining eyes.

"Bobby," she whispered.

"It was meant to be," he assured her. "Caity will have a sister!"

"Brother," Alex said as she let go of her husband. You already have two daughters, now I get my son!

"If this is too dangerous for you…" Vanessa started.

"Vanessa," Alex said pulling away from Bobby. "We are here for you. If I can help, I will."

"If the doctor decides that it is too dangerous for Ali, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it." Bobby said as he studied Vanessa.

"Thanks…. Daddy…." She said and stepped into Bobby's waiting arms.

His felt his heart melt as tears spilled down his face. "I'm so sorry we had to meet this way," He said, "But I'm so happy to have you in my life now."

The next day was Sunday, and the weekly dinner at the Eames household. Alex and Bobby had discussed it and had decided to tell her family what was going on. They waited until everyone was finished supper and the children had gone into the living room to watch a movie.

"So for once, the Goren chapter has news," Alex said as she took a sip of a glass of milk.

"Really," her mother said looking up.

It was not often that Bobby and Alex offered news at the dinner table so everyone sat quietly waiting.

"Mom, Dad," Alex said with a sly smile. "Bobby and I are grandparents. We may have been the last of your kids to have children, but we are the first to make you great-grandparents!"

"What?" John Eames asked. "Lexie, you are not making sense."

"I found out this week that I have a grown daughter." Bobby said quietly. "My girlfriend in high school had a baby that I didn't know about. We met her this week, her daughter is very ill and she needed me to be tested to see if I was compatible for a bone marrow transplant." We did all the necessary tests including paternity. Unfortunately, I was not a match for her daughter Kaitlyn Alexis, but I was a match as Vanessa's father.

"I, on the other hand, was a match for Kaity," Alex said. "We also discovered via the blood tests that there is another little Goren on the way."

"So you can't donate?" Alex's sister Charlie asked.

"No, I can," Alex said. "Unless the doctors decide that it is too risky considering my history. Right now, everything is a go. I have some tests to do next week."

"So, next week, they will join us for dinner," John said as he lifted his cup. The matter settled.

The other Eames children offered some tidbits about their week, but the focus of the conversation centered on the Gorens.

When they got home that evening there was a message from Captain Deakins.

"He just wanted to know if everything was all right." Alex said as she followed Bobby up the stairs, and watched him lay Caity on her bed and pull the blankets up around her.

"I'll call him in the morning," Bobby said as he pulled Alex to him. "I've been thinking," he continued.

"Did it hurt?" Alex asked as her arms snaked around his waist.

"Jonathan Alexander," Bobby said, ignoring her comment. "What do you think?"

"I think I like Robert Jonathan," she said.

"Or, Alexander Robert?" Bobby asked.

Alex nodded against his chest. "I like that. Caity and Xander."

"I think it is bedtime," Bobby said as he kissed the top of Alex's head.

"I agree," she said.

Together they walked to their room and shut the door.

CICICICICI

End of Chapter 2. TBC, but I have many meetings next week, so I am aiming for next weekend.


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